Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men

What Is a Real Man?

Do you wonder why divorces are so common these days? One reason is that a woman can now tell a man straight and fast, ―If you can‘t take care of this properly, I‘m going to leave.‖ My mother had eleven children. When she h ad a problem, she couldn‘t say to my father, ―I‘m going to leave you.‖ Where was she going to go? She had no profe s sional or academic training, no preparation for a job outside the home. The home was her life. Independence is a relatively new situation for women, and men are still learning to cope with the change. In many ways, the woman has taken over not only the man‘s trad i tional role of provider, but also that of protector. She has mace, she has a gun in her purse, and she has a cell phone to call the police instant ly. So what does the man do? He says, ―I‘m your protector,‖ and she says, ―I don‘t need you to protect me.‖ It‘s a different world. Men don‘t know what they‘re su p posed to do for women anymore. Women are bringing home not only the bacon but also the pig! Men and women used to exist in different spheres. A man‘s sphere was work and survival. The woman‘s world was the home and children. There was no confusion of roles. They knew exactly where they were supposed to be. A woman leaving the home and entering the workplace means that the home is no longer kept by her specifically. The man isn‘t sure what his job in the home is, and the woman isn‘t sure what her job in the home is. They‘re co n fused. Your father used to bring home the bacon, but now your wife is bringing home not only the bacon but the pig. Besides that, she owned two pigs before you married her. She doesn‘t want any bacon from you; she already has bacon. If both husband and wife are now bringing home the bacon, then who‘s the provider? That‘s a problematic ques tion for men. If both are paying the mortgage, then who‘s Roles and Skills Are Less Compartmentalized

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